After a hard race or training session, you can help repair tired leg muscles by taking on protein, and For Goodness Shakes Recovery Drink is a very quick and easy way of doing it. As the name implies, this drink looks like a milkshake and tastes like a milkshake, and key ingredient is – you guessed it – milk, in the form of whey and casein.

According to the For Goodness Shakes website, the whey is fast-acting protein, while the casein is slow-acting, which together makes an ideal recovery formula. This drink also contains carbohydrate – providing a carb-to-protein ratio of 3:1 - plus various minerals to help replace those lost or 'burnt' during your ride and further help the recovery process.

This drink is available in 72g sachets of powder which you mix with 450ml water, and also ready-to-drink in 475ml bottles. Both varieties come in various flavours, including Banana, Chocolate and Vanilla.

There are many different recovery products on the market, so the type you prefer may come down to a question of taste. And on that score, For Goodness Shakes is a winner. The taste and texture is very good – pretty close to 'real' milkshake, although not quite as sweet - and slips down very easily indeed.

When it comes to cost, 12 bottles cost £25.20 on the For Goodness Shakes website – while 12 sachets of powder costs £24. You can also buy a large tub of powder (1.44 kg making 20 servings) for £36. At the time of writing, the 12 sachets are discounted to £21.60 and the tub is £32.40.

Specifically-designed recovery drinks are not essential (after a long ride you can help your muscles recover by stretching properly and eating something like a bowl of muesli) but they can help you benefit more from training and help improve your overall performance, so on that basis I'd say For Goodness Shakes is well worth trying.

Verdict

Delicious milkshake-style drink to help muscles recover after a hard ride or training session.

road.cc test report

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

This product is a recovery drink, designed to help muscles recover and repair after exertion. It is not designed for use DURING a ride.

Under "why You Need to Recover", the For Goodness Shakes website says:

"Muscle soreness and stiffness occur when you stress them (exercise) causing disruption to muscle fibres and inflamation. Lactic acid building up doesn't help matters either.

Muscles that are sore, tired and inflamed are in a weakened state and cannot perform at full power. Reducing the effects of training so that the body can return to its normal state will help you get back training at full power faster ... By consuming a carbohydrate protein based drink after training, subjects experienced reduced muscle damage and felt less muscle soreness after resistance training compared with a carbohydrate only drink. ... For Goodness Shakes provides the optimum blend of protein and carbohydrate to promote protein synthesis, reduce protein degradation which helps to stimulate muscle tissue repair and adaptation."

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

The website goes on to say: "After exercise, the body is in an anabolic state: hungry to repair and rebuild muscles and make adaptive changes. ... To help the body repair and rebuild, you need protein. Whilst the body can produce some types of protein it cannot produce 9 'essential' amino acids (protein building blocks). After training the body needs at least 6g of these amino acids with at least 3g carbohydrate to produce the desired recovery effect post-exercise. A carbohydrate/protein based recovery drink made from milk contains a rich source of 'complete protein' - with all the 9 'essential' amino acids from whey and casein proteins. ... For Goodness Shakes contains 16g of protein and 46-59g of carbohydrate (depending on flavour) and is made from milk's natural whey and casein proteins."

Rate the product for performance:

9/10

Unlike energy products, where you can more easily gauge performance, it's hard to be sure if a recovery product is working or not. If you feel good when you go out trainming next time, is because of the drink, or for someother reason? However, it is possible to confirm that the texture of For Goodness Shakes is pleasant, the tatse is delicious, and there are no ill-effects on the stomach.

Rate the product for value:

8/10

Recovery drinks are not cheap compared to carb-only energy drinks, but the price of For Goodness Shakes is about on a par with similar recovery drink products. Here's a rough comparison with two other brands:

Sponser Recovery Shake - 800g tub of powder costs £20 (enough for 20 drinks, although this product can be mixed with milk or water, so the carb-to-protein ratio varies)

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Taste and texture. Refreshing and non-sticky. Very easy to drink after a hard ride or training session.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.

Would you consider buying the product? Yes.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes.

Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?

It's hard to gauge just how much your muscles might be recovering after drinking For Goodness Shakes compared to similar drinks from other manufacturers. Sometimes it comes down to persoanl choice on aspects such as taste. On that front, this drink is delicious and would score a 9 or 10, but the price - while fair - isn't astounding, so it earns an overall score of 8.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 51 Height: 5ft 10 / 178cm Weight: 11 stone / 70kg

I usually ride: an old Marin Alp, or an old steel classic My best bike is: an old Giant Cadex (can you see a theme here?)

I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: A few times a week I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: touring, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding,

Here's how we roll at road.cc: every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a real insight into whether it works or not. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The score reflects a product's function and value. Good scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad. Here's what they mean:

5 stars

Perfect

4.5 stars

Exceptional

4 stars

Very good

3.5 stars

Good

3 stars

Quite good

2.5 stars

Okay

2 stars

Not so good

1.5 stars

Poor

1 stars

Bad

0.5 stars

Appalling

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